This invention relates to desk organizers, that is, accessories for placement on a desk for holding, in separate locations that are easily utilizable by a person working at a desk, various items such as paper clips, rubber bands, pen and pencil holders.
Workers who perform their jobs at least part of the time at desks, tables or the like typically require the use of various articles in performing their jobs. By way of example, such a worker may require ready access to such things as paper clips, rubber bands, business cards, note pads or so-called xe2x80x9cstickiesxe2x80x9d, marking instruments such as pens, pencils and other sorts of markers. In addition, many such workers sip beverages of one sort or another as they perform their duties.
In order that the duties of the worker be performed as efficiently as possible, it is highly desirable to provide a means of organizing such items so that they are readily accessible to the user without requiring the user to literally hunt for the particular item sought. This factor has led to the development of so-called desk organizers which attempt to provide locations for receipt of each of the various types of items that may be used during a work day.
One example of a desk organizer includes a flat base provided with bales for impaling the pages of a daily calendar, a holder for a note pad and a holder for a single writing instrument. This type of construction suffers several disadvantages in that no provision is made for storage of paper clips, business cards, rubber bands or a plurality of writing instruments. Consequently, if such additional items are to be stored, one or more separate pieces of equipment are required. This leads to inefficiencies if the desk organizer and such separate pieces of equipment as may be required are moved relative to each other and become separated. Furthermore, such a desk organizer lacks provision for receipt of a beverage holder such as a travel mug, a glass or a coffee mug, thereby requiring the user to resort to a separate coaster if damage to the surface of the desk or table top is to be avoided.
Furthermore, in many instances, workers provide a means for display of pictures or the like in separate holders and have frequent resort to a time piece which may or may not be readily viewable.
In some instances, workers have need to have ready access to envelopes or the like and these must be stored at locations separate and independent of the desk organizer.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems.
It is the principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved desk organizer. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a desk organizer that is a single accessory that includes provision for storage with ready accessibility for a multitude of items commonly found in the environment of a desk and used by a worker at the desk.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention achieves the foregoing in a desk organizer that includes a base having a bottom surface adapted to rest on a table like surface, an opposite top surface, and a thickness that is relatively small in relation to the periphery of the base, a front wall, a rear wall, and spaced, opposed side walls extending between the front and rear walls. An array of at least two pockets in the top surface adjacent the front wall includes a rectangular, relatively shallow pocket adapted to receive and provide support for a note pad and a relatively deeper pocket on one side of the shallow pocket and adapted to receive paper clips, rubber bands, business cards or the like. At least two cylindrical pockets are provided in the top surface and each is adjacent a respective one of the side walls. The cylindrical pockets are substantially identical to each other and relatively deep in relation to the shallow pocket. An upright, open topped container is adapted to receive marking devices such as pens and pencils and has a cylindrical bottom sized to nest in either one of the cylindrical pockets and is located in a selected one of the cylindrical pockets. An upright beverage container is provided and has an open top and a cylindrical bottom sized to nest in either one of the cylindrical pockets and is located in the other one of the cylindrical pockets.
As a consequence, the desk holder provides locations for the receipt of at least four different items commonly encountered in a working environment requiring the use of a desk or table like surface thereby providing a far greater degree of organization in a single structure than has heretofore been known.
In a preferred embodiment, the array of pockets includes at least three pockets and the relatively shallow pocket is in the center of the array. There are two side pockets, one on each side of the central pocket and both side pockets are deeper than the central pockets.
In one embodiment, the pockets in the array and the cylindrical pockets define a row with one of the cylindrical pockets being at each end of the array.
The invention contemplates that in this embodiment, an upright display panel is disposed between the central pocket and the rear wall and extends upwardly from the base and is adapted to mount an article to be displayed such as a photograph or a time piece.
In another embodiment of the invention, each of the cylindrical pockets is located between a corresponding one of the side pockets in the array and the rear wall.
In this embodiment, the desk organizer may include an open topped, pigeon hole bin extending upwardly from the top surface and located between the cylindrical pockets on the one hand and the central pocket and the rear wall on the other hand.
In one embodiment, the open topped bin includes front and rear walls and side walls extending between the front and rear walls. The bin side walls are concave in facing relation to the cylindrical pockets to thereby facilitate compactness of the desk organizer.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.